Corn-harvester.



J; G. GORDBRMAN, CORN HABVESTEB.

LPFLIOATIOH r1131) JULY25,1910.

982,798; Patented Jan. 31, 1911.

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J. G. GORDBRMAN. 001m HARVESTER.

API'LIOATIOH FILED JULY26,191 0. 982,798. Patented Jan. 31, 1911.

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To all whom it may concern:

JOHN C. CORDERMAN, 0F APPLETON, MINNESOTA.

CORN-HARVESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 31, 1911.

Application filed July 25, 1910. Serial No. 573,741.

Be it known that I, J OHN C. CORDERMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Appleton, in the county of Swift and State of Minnesota,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corn-Harvesters;and I. do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide an improved corn harvesteradapted to snap the ears of corn from the standing stalks, withoutcutting the stalks, and to deliver the ears into a suitable receptacle,preferably,

into the box of a wagon driven at the side of the machine. Preferably,the mechanism includes, also, means for husking the ears immediatelyafter they are snapped from the stalks.

The invention consists of the novel devices and combinations of deviceshereinafter described and defined in the claims.

In the acompanying drawings which illustrate the invention, likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan View, with some partsbroken away, illustrating the invention; Fig.2 is a vertical sectiontaken on the line 00 w of Fig. 1 showing the harvester mechanism removedfrom the truck of the machine; Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the partsshown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line or a?of Fig. 2, some parts being removed, the said view being intended toshow the driving gears for the snapping rollers and the delivery chains;Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the line m 00 of Fig. 1 some partsbeing broken away, and Fig. (5 is a section taken approximately on theline 00 m" of Fig. 1, some parts being removed.

In Fig. 1, the numeral 1 indicates the front portion of the heavy truckframe, such for instance as the frame of a traction engine, or of asupporting truck pushed by horses hitched at the rear thereof. On itsfront end portion the truck frame 1 is provided with vertically extendedrigidly secured T rails 2, and at its central front portion the saidtruck frame is shown as provided with a guide sheave 3.

The frame work of the corn harvester attachment is an open approximatelyrectangular structure and is indicated as an entirety by the numeral 4.At its rear portion, the harvester frame 1 is provided with rigidlysecured channel sha e guides 5 that are interlocked with but slidevertically upon the T rails 2. of the truck frame 1, thus supporting theharvester frame from the said truck frame with freedom for verticaladjustment. Such vertical adjustment may be produced in various waysbut, as shown, is accomplished by a cable 6 passed over the guide sheave8, attached at its lower end to the harvester frame 1 and extended atits other end to a suitable Windlass drum, not shown, but which would belocated on the harvester frame.

This improved corn harvester may be arranged to simultaneously operateon any desired number of rows of corn, and, as shown in the drawings,will operate simul taneously upon three rows. Hence, for operation uponeach row of corn there is provided a pair of forwardly inclinedgathering devices shown as in the form of gathering plates 7, the lowerfront ends of which rearwardly converge so that they will properlygather the corn stalks and direct the same between the adjacent inneredges of the cooperating gathering plates. At their upper portions thegatherlng plates 7, as shown, are rigidly secured to the front transverse top bar of the frame 1, and at their lower portions, they are riidly connected 1 to brace bars 8, the rear encs of which are rigidlysecured to the bottom of the said frame 4;.

Located below the gap formed between each pair of gathering plates 7 isa pair of forwardly and downwardly inclined snapping rollers 9 the lowerfront ends of which are made conical and are connected by suitable conehearings to small. bearing brackets 10 secured on the front end portionsof the said gathering plates. The upper ends of the shafts S) of thesnapping rollers 9 (see Fig. 1) are journaled in suitable bearings onthe upper portion of the frame 4: and are provided with pinions 10 thatmesh in pairs with double faced gears 11. carried by a long transversecounter shaft 12, mounted in suitable bearings on frame 1 and providedat one end, to-wit, as shown at its left hand end, with a pulley 13 anda gear 14. M0- tion is imparted to the counter shaft 12 from the belt 15which runs over the pulley 13 and may be driven either by an enginecarried on the truck frame 1 or by traction wheels of the operatingtruck.

Extended transversely of the machine below and at the rear of thecounter shaft 12 is a plurality of parallel husking rollers "16 which,as shown, incline in a direction from the left downwardly toward theright hand side of the machine and are journaled in suitable bearings onthe frame 4. These husking rollers 16 may be provided with husking pins,if desired, and their shafts at the left hand side of the machine areprovided with intermeshing gears 17, one of which meshes with the gear14 of the counter shaft 12.

Extending along the marginal portions of the so-called gathering plates7 and located above the same, are feed belts, preferably in the form ofsprocket chains 18. These sprocket chains 18 are arranged to run over anupper sprocket 19, lower sprocket 20, and intermediate guide wheels 21.The lower sprockets 20 are loosely journaled to the lower portions ofthe gathering plates 7, and the wheels 21 are loosely journaled to thesaid gathering plates in the vicinity of the lower portions of theirstraight inner edges.

The sprockets 19 are journaled to the upper portions of the gatheringplates 7 and are secured to short shafts 22, to the lower ends of whichpinions 23 are secured. These pinions 23 mesh with gears 24: carried bythe counter shaft 12, already described.

The lower ends of the inclined husking rollers 16 are arranged todeliver on to an inclined endless elevator belt 25, mounted in asupporting frame 26 suitably supported from the frame 4. The inner andlower portion of the elevator belt 25 runs over an ordinary drivingroller, the shaft of which is mounted in suitable bearings on the frame4 and is provided with a pulley 27 at its front end (see Figs. 3 and 5).A belt 28 runs over the pulley 27, and over a pulley 29 secured on thefront end of a short shaft 30 mounted in suitable bearings on frame 4;.This shaft 30 is provided with a gear 31 that meshes with a gear 32,carried by the counter shaft 12. Thus the elevator 25 is driven fromsaid counter shaft 12.

Horizontal transversely extended endless carrier belt 33 is arranged towork over nearly all but the left hand portions of the husking rollers16. This belt 33 is arranged to run' over suitable guide rollers, notshown, but which are mounted in bearings on the upper portion of theframe 4, and one of which rollers is provided with a bevel gear 34 thatmeshes with one of the bevel gears 24, carried by the counter shaft 12,as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The operation of the machine is substantially as follows: When themachine is driven forward the standing corn stalks will be gathered orcollected by the converging cut or pulled out of the ground, but underthe forward movement of the machine, they will be pulled downward andforward and.

between the inclined pairs of snapping rollers 9, and the latter willsnap the unhusked ears from the stalks, and by the said feed chains,these ears will be fed upwardly and rearwardly. The ears which arecarried by i the intermediate and right hand belts 18 will be deliveredon to the carrier belt .33, and by the latter will be delivered onto theupper portions of the husking rollers 16, while the ears fed by the lefthand belts 18 will be delivered directly on to the upper ends of saidhusking rollers. The husking rollers will tear the husks from the earsand feed the same downward, while the husked ears will roll or worktheir way downward on husking rollers and will be delivered to theelevator belt 25, and by the latter may be delivered into the box of awagon driven at the side of the machine.

The entire corn harvester may be adjusted vertically to adapt themachine to different positions .of the standing corn. The tapered lowerfront ends of the snapping rollers make the entrance of the stalksbetween the rollers an easy matter. The so-called gathering plates maytake various forms, and, in fact, the term gathering plates is used in.a broad sense and, for convenience. It is not limited to the flat orsolid form thereof.

WVhat I claim is 1. In a corn harvester, the combination with amultiplicity of pairs of forwardly and downwardly inclined snappingrollers and feed devices cooperating therewith, of transversely inclinedhusking rollers having their upper ends located immediately below thedelivery ends of one set of said snapping rollers and said feed devicesand arranged to receive at their upper ends from one set of snapping andfeed devices, and a conveyer arranged to receive from another set ofsnapping and feed devices and to deliver the ears to the upper portionsof said husking rollers, substantially as described.

2. In a corn harvester, the combination with a transversely extendedframe ,and a counter shaft journaled thereon, of a multiplicity of pairsof forwardly and downwardly inclined gathering plates having divergingfront end portions, corresponding pairs of forwardly and downwardlyinclined snapping rollers having divergent front ends and mounted towork immediately below the inner edges of said gathering plates, pairsof endless gathering belts working immediclined husking rollersjournaled in said frame and having their upper ends located below thedelivery ends of said snapping rollers and said gathering belts, anendless carrier belt Working over said husking r01lers and arranged toreceive from all but one pair of said feed belts and to deliver the earson the upper end portions of said husking rollers, the other pair offeed belts being arranged to deliver dlrectly on to the upper endportions of said husking rollers, and

connections from said counter shaft for driving the said snappingrollers, husking rollers, feed belts, and carrier belt, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN C. CORDERMAN.

WVitnesses:

HENRY LENDE, H. S. Lnmosnoi-L

